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College of the Redwoods, one of just a handful of community colleges in the state to offer on-campus student housing, will soon have a good deal more of it.

A conceptual illustration of the soon-to-be-build student housing.

This afternoon at CR’s main Eureka campus, California State Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Jim Wood assembled with students and faculty on the steps of the administrative building to announce that the State of California will soon invest $28 million toward the construction of new, affordable student housing onsite.

“Today is an exciting, exciting day for the College of the Redwoods, for the hard-working students of this life-changing campus and for everyone here on the North Coast that calls this beautiful part of the country home,” McGuire said. 

This “massive” $28 million investment from the state, packaged within a higher education trailer bill that was recently passed by the legislature, will help build 100 new dorm rooms holding 215 beds, McGuire said. That marks nearly a 35 percent increase over the current on-campus student housing capacity of 160 beds.

“And 181 of these new beds will be designated affordable for the most vulnerable students who call the North Coast home,” McGuire added. 

The existing student housing will be demolished due to age and seismic concerns, and construction of the new housing facilities is scheduled to begin in 2026.

While a major windfall for the college, this $28 million represents merely an initial investment toward a total project cost estimated to be between $71 million and $73 million, according to McGuire, who did not say where the rest will come from.

“Look,” he continued, “this investment, it couldn’t come at a more critical time. A recent study found that one in five community college students here in the Golden State have experienced homelessness in the past 12 months. The numbers are even higher here in Humboldt County.”

He noted that over the past 36 months, the State of California has invested nearly half a billion dollars in education-related projects on the North Coast, including $458 million toward the conversion of HSU to Cal Poly Humboldt, $10 million to develop a health care education hub in Arcata and today’s announcement of nearly $30 million more. 

McGuire said this investment is “about lifting up our region. It’s about providing the most vulnerable students an opportunity to thrive. It’s about paving a pathway to a stronger middle class here on the North Coast.”

When Wood took the microphone he emphasized the state’s housing crisis and its disproportionate impact on young people. He noted that a 2018 housing assessment found that the City of Eureka had only met 13.9 percent of its housing needs between 2007 and 2014.

“In a survey that same year,” he said, “over 100 CR students identified as facing housing insecurity and/or homelessness, with students reporting moving from couch to couch, living out of their vehicles or camping in the redwoods behind campus in order to attend classes. I will tell you that that didn’t happen when I was going to school, and it shouldn’t happen today. And because of projects like this, it won’t happen in the future.”

Sally Biggin, the president of CR’s board of trustees, remarked on the massive size of the region served by College of the Redwoods, a rural expanse of more than 10,000 square miles spread across three counties. 

“The isolation of many of our communities limits [student] access to post-secondary experiences … ,” Biggin said. “Unlike the more urban areas of our state, many of our students cannot live at home and easily commute to our campus. They must relocate, and affordable housing becomes a major issue for them.”

CR President Dr. Keith Flamer was ebulient.

“What a great day,” he said, beaming. He thanked McGuire and Wood for their work securing the funds and said it’s unacceptable for students to be homeless. 

Noting that CR has seen an enrollment increase this semester, Flamer said his administration has had to get creative with housing solutions — namely, by working out a deal with the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria to temporarily house students at the Bear River Casino.

“No, they’re not gambling,” Flamer quipped. “At least they better not be gambling.”

Next to the mic was Gabriel Brooks, a student and current senator in the Associated Students of College of the Redwoods. Standing in front of many fellow students, including members of the CR women’s softball team and both men’s and women’s basketball teams, Brooks said he suddenly became homeless during his first semester.

“For months I struggled to survive, and school became my last priority,” he said. “Finding housing felt impossible between low availability and rising costs. I believed I would not be able to continue with college. When I found out I could live on campus at CR it changed my life.”

Another schematic illustration of the planned new housing project.

Brooks said he was able to focus on his studies once he moved into the campus dorms, and in the spring he will be graduating with his associate degree and transferring to Cal Poly Humboldt’s social work program.

“Affordable housing is the key factor to academic success, not to mention a tenet of student wellbeing,” Brooks said. “This project recognizes students not only as learners, but as people. It directly empowers students to shift from surviving to thriving — personally, academically and beyond.”

After his speech, McGuire and Wood presented Flamer with an oversized commemorative check made out to College of the Redwoods in the amount of $28 million.

“And then the good president is running to the bank before it bounces,” McGuire joked.

The Outpost will release more details about the funding and the plans for new housing when they become available. 

Caltrans has closed Highway 101 in both directions at Richardson Grove, following a collision that occurred about an hour ago.  California Highway Patrol dispatch logs from that time note that the crash involved a bicyclist, but it was unclear whether any vehicles were involved before those logs went dark. An ambulance had been dispatched.

KMUD News reports on Facebook that someone was killed in the crash.

There is no estimated time of reopening the highway. If there is still a STOP sign in the map above at the time you read this, the highway’s still closed.

We will update when we know more.

Eureka Police Department press release: 

On August 2, 2023, at about 6:37 p.m., Officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to the 100 block of W. Sonoma Street in response to a 911 call of a physical altercation. Responding officers discovered 27-year old Holland Elbik experiencing medical distress inside her home. Officers and medical personnel from Humboldt Bay Fire and City Ambulance attempted lifesaving measures, unfortunately, Elbik died at the hospital. Officers determined she had sustained multiple injuries as a result of a physical altercation between Elbik, a roommate, Destinee Rhamy, and a male friend of Rhamy. The EPD has conducted an in-depth investigation of the incident and has determined Holland Elbik was stabbed to death during the altercation.

The EPD has secured an arrest warrant for Destinee Grace Rhamy of Eureka, in connection with the homicide. Rhamy is described as a 20-year old white female, approximately 5’6” tall, medium build, with dark hair and blue eyes.

If you see Rhamy, or know of her whereabouts, please call the Eureka Police Department immediately at 707-441-4044 or dial 9-1-1. Do not attempt to contact or apprehend Rhamy as she is considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective Ray Nunez at 707-441-4109.

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Coastal residents woke up to smoky skies this morning, the result of numerous fires burning across Northern California and Southern Oregon. 

Image via AirNow

Northern winds are pushing smoke down along the coast and onshore from the Anvil Fire, near Port Orford, Oregon, bringing modern to unhealthy air quality conditions throughout Humboldt County. “Overall, smoke will continue to impact inland river valleys with smoke from northerly winds, while coastal areas will see similar conditions with periods of smoke with improvement into the weekend,” according to the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District. 

Sensitive groups – including people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, and pregnant people – should stay indoors in a place with clean indoor air and keep activity levels light. All others should limit prolonged or heavy activity and time spent outdoors. 

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Press release from the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District:

The Six Rivers Forest (SRF) Lightning Complex, Smith River Complex, and the Happy Camp Complex remain active generating smoke in the region. Coastal communities will continue to see diminished air quality again today as north winds push smoke from southern Oregon down along the coast and onshore, bringing periods of Moderate to Unhealthy air quality. Communities within the Klamath River Valley should have generally USG conditions and will continue to see more smoke impacts along the river corridor. Communities along the Trinity River Valley will have overall USG conditions throughout the day with increased smoke later in the day. Overall, smoke will continue to impact inland river valleys with smoke from northerly winds, while coastal areas will see similar conditions with periods of smoke with improvement into the weekend.

USFS Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) are assigned to certain fires impacting our area and daily Smoke Outlook Forecasts on one or more of these fires (https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook). Air quality monitors and the current Air Quality Index (AQI) should be viewed on the EPA Fire & Smoke Map at https://fire.airnow.gov.

Air quality monitors and the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for communities should be viewed at https://fire.airnow.gov. Additional Particulate Matter (PM2.5) monitors have been deployed in Eureka, Crescent City, Hoopa, Willow Creek, Klamath, Weaverville, Orleans, Hayfork, and Mad River. 

Regional Smoke Outlooks – Good , Moderate , to Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) (AQI 0-150 range):

Humboldt County:

• Eureka area (including Scotia to Trinidad) – Overall Moderate, with periods of USG
• Weitchpec – Overall USG, with Unhealthy in the afternoon
• Hoopa – Overall USG, with periods of heavier smoke in the afternoon/evening
• Willow Creek – Overall USG, with periods of heavier smoke in the afternoon
• Orick – Overall USG
• Garberville, Redway – Overall Moderate, with periods of USG to Unhealthy

Del Norte County:

• Crescent City – Overall USG, with varying periods of smoke from southern Oregon
• Klamath – Overall USG, with periods of Unhealthy in the evening/overnight
• Gasquet – Overall Moderate, with periods of heavier smoke possible
  

Trinity County:

• Weaverville area – Overall USG, with periods of Unhealthy
• Hayfork – Overall USG, with periods of Unhealthy
• Trinity Center – Overall Moderate, with periods of increased smoke
• Burnt Ranch – Overall USG, with periods of Unhealthy
• Hyampom – Overall USG, with periods of Unhealthy

USFS Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) are assigned to certain fires impacting our area and are providing daily Smoke Outlook Forecasts on one or more of these fires (https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook).

Fire information can be found at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ or https://fire.airnow.gov/ or app.watchduty.org. Current weather information can be found at www.wrh.noaa.gov. As with all wildfires, ash fallout is possible. Ash fallout information can be found in the Wildfire Smoke Resources section of our webpage at www.ncuaqmd.org.

Health Information & Actions to Protect Yourself from Smoke Impacts

Concentrations of smoke may vary depending upon location, weather, and distance from the fire. Smoke from wildfires and structure fires contain harmful chemicals that can affect your health. Smoke can cause eye and throat irritation, coughing, and difficulty breathing. People who are at greatest risk of experiencing symptoms due to smoke include: those with respiratory disease (such as asthma), those with heart disease, young children, and older adults.

These sensitive populations should stay indoors and avoid prolonged activity. All others should limit prolonged or heavy activity and time spent outdoors. Even healthy adults can be affected by smoke. Seek medical help if you have symptoms that worsen or become severe.

Follow these general precautions to protect your health during a smoke event:

• Minimize or stop outdoor activities, especially exercise.
• Stay indoors with windows and doors closed as much as possible.
• Do not run fans that bring smoky outdoor air inside – examples include swamp coolers, whole-house fans, and fresh air ventilation systems.
• Run your air-conditioner only if it does not bring smoke in from the outdoors. Change the standard air conditioner filter to a medium or high efficiency filter. If available, use the “re-circulate” or “recycle” setting on the unit.
• Do not smoke, fry food, or do other things that will create indoor air pollution. Consider leaving the area until smoke conditions improve if you have repeated coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain, palpitations, nausea, unusual fatigue, lightheadedness.

Consider leaving the area until smoke conditions improve if you have repeated coughing, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain, palpitations, nausea, unusual fatigue, lightheadedness.

For further information, visit the District’s website at www.ncuaqmd.org or call the District’s Wildfire Response Coordinator at (707) 443-3093 x122.

Note: The Wikipedia page for the Fridjof Nansen is pretty interesting. This is a pretty new ship and it has a hybrid engine, just like your Prius.

Press release from the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District:

Eureka will welcome the Fridtjof Nansen and its 92 passengers to Humboldt Bay this Wednesday, September 27th docking at 11:30 AM. The ship will enter Humboldt Bay at 10:30 AM and be led into the harbor by a boat parade followed by a private welcome party at Schneider dock.

Ship guests will have the option to enjoy Old Town Eureka, the Redwood Skywalk, Sequoia Park, The Humboldt Botanical Garden and Downtown Ferndale. An excursion catalog is continuing to be developed to share what Humboldt County has to offer to incoming cruise ships.

The cruise visit and welcome party are a collaborative effort planned by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, the City of Eureka, Eureka Main Street, Humboldt County Office of Economic Development, Visit Humboldt, Petrusha Pilots, Coos Bay Tugs and Zerlang and Zerlang Marine Services. Special thanks to Chet Albin, Dave Schneider, and Schneider Dock. Fridtjof Nansen is a ship with Hurtigruten Expeditions, departing from Vancouver, BC on September 23rd and traveling south along the Pacific Coast on an 8-day cruise ending in San Diego.

The ship is expected to be visible around 10:30 AM on Wednesday; local citizens can watch the arrival from the Del Norte Street pier, the Park and Ride at Herrick Avenue and the Samoa boat ramp at the north jetty.

Two more cruise ships will be arriving in Humboldt Bay this autumn, one on October 2nd and the other on October 7th, more information to follow.

In the final hours of Sept. 15, 2022, Pablo Silva and four other Venezuelan men were wandering downtown Sacramento, a city they had never heard of, searching for a roof over their heads.

They didn’t find it.

They had traveled thousands of miles to escape violence and poverty in Venezuela. Silva said he and the men had asked for asylum at the border in Texas and, after they were processed, immigration officials gave them paperwork with an address, saying it was a shelter in Sacramento.

To this day, Silva isn’t sure who bought his ticket to California, but penniless and hungry he accepted, expecting a better future in the state capital.

After hours of walking in Sacramento, Silva spotted the address — 1107 9th St. — and imagined himself sleeping in a warm bed inside the tall building.

But a security guard there stopped him and the other men before they could knock and said, with the help of Google Translate, that there was no shelter in the Forum Building, a 10-story edifice that houses offices for lobbyists, two blocks from the Capitol.

The five immigrants, who barely knew each other, searched all night for a warm place to rest. At times they slept on the ground, huddled together on a park bench, and even ducked into portable toilets until the smell of human feces got to them.

A year later Silva still lives in Sacramento. Recently he retraced his steps from that night, telling his story of leaving his family in Venezuela, seeing the bodies of those who didn’t survive their journey to the United States, and almost giving up during that first night of sleeping on Sacramento’s streets.

“When I arrived here I had nothing,” Silva said, while standing across from the Forum Building on a recent afternoon. “Now I have a work permit, but I haven’t had much luck finding a job. I don’t want to take anybody’s job; I just want an opportunity.”

Silva’s journey foreshadowed a wave of buses and flights transporting asylum seekers from border cities in Texas to metropolitan areas run by Democrats, including Los Angeles and Sacramento. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have boasted about the mass migrant movement, though it’s unclear who sent Silva’s group to Sacramento.

Silva has made progress launching his new life, he said; though he still encounters setbacks. Like Silva, many of the dozens of asylum seekers landing into California are hoping to find work and a safe haven.

They may find that it takes a while, Silva said.

An unexpected journey to California

Silva said he was forced to leave his family and native country after refusing to join the National Liberation Army, a Marxist guerrilla group in Colombia that operates near the Venezuelan border, including in his hometown of Ureña.

Silva had heard from other Venezuelans who emigrated that the United States is a safe country filled with opportunities. On Aug. 7, 2022, Silva said goodbye to his 7-year-old daughter and, with the equivalent of $80 in his pocket, embarked on a journey north.

First he traveled by bus and boat until he reached the mountains of the infamous Darién Gap, a once-impenetrable rainforest connecting Panama with South America. It has become a major crossing point for U.S.-bound migrants.

Some don’t make it through, Silva said, describing the eight days it took him to cross the jungle.

“I saw dead women, men and children laying on the ground,” he said. “I went four days without eating, and drinking water from the river.”

Silva traversed Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador on foot and by bus. When he reached Guatemala City, he asked strangers for money until a man helped him buy a bus ticket to the Mexican border. Silva then rode the final 100 miles atop the notorious freight train known as La Bestia to Piedras Negras, a border town across from Eagle Pass, Texas.

The United Nation’s chief immigration agency has deemed the U.S.-Mexico border the world’s deadliest land route for migrants. Last year at least 686 people died or disappeared, nearly half in Mexico’s Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts.

On Sept. 8, 2022, Silva swam across the Rio Grande and surrendered to U.S. immigration officials. He spent his first night inside a Border Patrol cell, colloquially known as a hielera, or ice box, due to its cold temperatures, before being transported to a church in El Paso.

There, Silva said, he was given documents instructing him to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Sacramento. He also was given paperwork that included the address that was supposed to be a shelter in California’s capital.

Silva and a group of other migrants hitchhiked about 550 miles to the Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio, where he was told to board a flight to California.

First: The American Airlines flight information for Pablo Silva. Silva crossed into the United States in Eagle Pass, Texas and was processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He was released in San Antonio and flown to Sacramento with a group of fellow migrants. Last: Greyhound bus information for Pablo Silva. Silva crossed into the United States in Eagle Pass, Texas last year . He was flown from San Antonio to Sacramento with other migrants. Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

“I thought I was finally going to a safe place,” Silva said. “But that happiness turned to nothing not long after we arrived. I realized that my journey hadn’t ended yet.”

Barricades as blankets

That security guard at the Forum Building advised Silva and the other four immigrants to come back early the next morning for more information.

Disappointed, they walked in circles looking for a place to eat and something to drink. It was near midnight and they could find nothing open. Every minute that went by they grew more hungry and thirsty. Headaches started to kick in.

When Silva saw a Sacramento police vehicle, hope manifested itself, he said.

“We showed our paperwork to a police officer and he called (on) his radio,” he said. “More officers came and they were speaking English to each other. He then approached us and said, ‘I am sorry, this is not our obligation.’”

The Sacramento Police Department didn’t respond to requests for comment about that encounter.

To fight the cold, the men sat close to each other on a metal bench at Cesar Chavez Plaza, a small park near Sacramento’s city hall. Not far from there, dozens of people were sleeping on the ground. Silva cried in silence.

Unable to sleep, the migrants kept walking until they were outside California’s Capitol. They decided to go inside some porta potties to warm up. But the smell was unbearable and they left.

As Silva continued walking, he thought of his weeks-long trek across a jungle and several countries. It helped him stay focused and motivated, though he could feel the blisters on his feet with every step.

Around the corner from the Capitol, the five men succumbed to fatigue. They entered a parking garage and laid down near a wall, using nearby barricades as blankets. Silva said he didn’t get any sleep, wondering how and why he had ended up on the streets.

First: A portable toilet outside of the Capitol grounds on Sept. 9, 2023. Pablo Silva said he and three fellow migrants tried to sleep in four portable bathrooms outside the state Capitol their first night in Sacrament. Overwhelmed by the smell, the group settled on a corner of a parking garage near K and 10th streets. Last: Folding barricades against a wall at a parking garage near K and 10th streets in downtown Sacramento on Sept. 9, 2023. Pablo Silva and three other migrants spent their first night in Sacramento sleeping in this corner of a garage, using barricades as blankets. Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

A few hours later, at 6 a.m. the five men headed back to the Forum Building, where the same security guard provided them with an address seven miles away. It was a food bank, where they were welcomed with breakfast and introduced to NorCal Resist, an immigration advocacy organization in Sacramento.

NorCal Resist said it would pay for their housing, food, and certain living expenses for six months.

“We make that agreement kind of knowing that we will probably have to provide assistance for a longer period because it takes a long time to get financially stable,” said Autumn Gonzalez, a volunteer attorney at NorCal Resist. “But these guys have been amazing. They went out hustling to find work immediately.”

Without proof of income or a credit history, they couldn’t rent a place to live, so Silva and the other immigrants were placed in a hotel. Gonzalez said her group has helped other migrants like them who arrive in Sacramento without friends or family to help.

“The first thing I did was to shower. I wanted to feel like myself again,” Silva said, showing the faded jeans he wore during his journey to the U.S.

“NorCal brought us new clothes and I tried them on. It felt like a new beginning.”

After a few months in the hotel, NorCal Resist helped Silva move to a two-bedroom apartment, which he now shares with two other immigrants seeking asylum.

Long journey for daily work

Without a work permit from the federal government, undocumented immigrants are not allowed to hold down jobs. Many wait six months or more after applying for asylum to qualify for a work permit. Until then, many find temporary or day work and are paid under the table.

Silva heard that if he showed up early in the morning at a Home Depot, he may be picked up for construction jobs. He rode a donated bike for 25 minutes in the predawn darkness to get there. His daughter needed to eat, he reminded himself. An hour before sunrise, Silva stood waiting to get picked up.

“I will never forget this American woman who didn’t speak Spanish but wanted people to help her move,” Silva said.

“I worked almost eight hours and got paid $200. That was my first job and the last for a few days.”

In the following months, Silva took daily jobs in construction and gardening, sometimes traveling to Modesto, Stockton and as far as Reno, Nevada. Some nights Silva skipped dinner to save every dollar he could for his daughter in Venezuela.

A man he met outside Home Depot helped him get steadier work at a carpet installation company. Though he gets paid $140 for a day shift that sometimes exceeds eight hours, Silva doesn’t always get five shifts a week, he said. In recent months he’s had to borrow to make ends meet and pay rent.

Just before his one-year anniversary in Sacramento, Silva experienced an anxiety attack and was rushed to the hospital.

His mental health had been deteriorating, he said. His eldest sister had died in April. His mother could not afford medication following her surgery. And he worried about his legal status.

“I remember I couldn’t move my face and my fingers,” Silva said of the panic attack. “I went back to work a couple of days after. I can’t take days off; I need to be able to provide for my family.”

A future still uncertain

When Silva claimed asylum, saying he fled harm in Venezuela, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents processed him and released him pending adjudication of his case. Instead of giving him a court hearing, agents instructed Silva to check in with ICE as part of a process designed to alleviate overcrowding in border facilities.

Soon after he connected with NorCal Resist, the group helped him file his official asylum application, starting the clock to obtain work authorization.

Getting a work permit has nothing to do with whether or not your asylum case is likely to be approved, said Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former immigration official under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

Ultimately an immigration judge and asylum officers must find that a migrant was persecuted or could be persecuted in their home countries due to one of several factors, such as their political views or religion, in order to grant them asylum. Those who lose their asylum case face deportation.

Migrants are waiting years to get their cases heard because of backlogs. As of December, more than 1.5 million asylum seekers were awaiting asylum hearings, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

“To get a resolution, to get either approved or rejected, depends on where the immigration court hearing is. It could be anywhere from a year to five years, or longer,” said Cardinal Brown, now a senior adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

U.S. border officials have reported record levels of migrant apprehensions in recent years, including 2.2 million in fiscal 2022. Along with posing humanitarian and operational challenges, the unprecedented migrant influx has ignited a political battle between Republican state governors, President Joe Biden and Democratic-led cities.

At Abbott’s direction, Texas has bused hundreds of migrants to large cities across the United States — including more than 500 to California since June — to protest the Biden administration’s border strategy and local sanctuary policies.

And the Florida Division of Emergency Management said it was responsible for flying a group of 36 migrants to Sacramento in June.

Neither Abbott nor DeSantis took credit for the flight that sent Silva to Sacramento.

Lauren Heidbrink, an associate professor and anthropologist at Cal State Long Beach who focuses on migration, said that by paying to ship migrants out of Texas, Abbott “is enlisting taxpayer dollars to create a political spectacle. He’s fabricating a crisis where there is none.”

There have been reports that Texas officials listed migrants’ addresses incorrectly on official documents, confiscated their documents and never returned them, and deceived migrants to get on buses to places where they have no contacts.

These practices can hinder migrants’ ability to attend their assigned court hearings and comply with immigration proceedings, Heidbrink said.

“It’s potentially creating chaos within the immigration system that’s trying to ensure that people get their day in court,” she said.

State officials have said California has assisted 423,000 immigrants since April 2021 and spent $1.3 billion since 2019, helping the federal government provide humanitarian services to new arrivals at the border.

Gonzalez said NorCal Resist is still unsure about who bought the plane tickets for Silva and the other four men last year. She added that, in some cases, shelters or nonprofits will pay for transportation for migrants being processed at the border, if they request it but have no money to continue their travels in the United States.

Permission to work

In the early morning of July 15, 10 months after his arrival in Sacramento, Silva opened his mailbox to find a letter from the federal government. Silva jumped with excitement when he realized he had received his work permit, a much sought-after document and a key milestone on his year-long journey that began far from California.

But Silva’s struggles didn’t end there. Not long after he opened the letter, he walked through downtown Sacramento for hours searching for a job. With a work permit, Silva thought that a stable income was finally attainable.

But all the businesses he visited rejected him.

“Some managers said they would call me back and they never did,” Silva said. “But what really hurt me was the discrimination. A manager said my work permit was fake.

“It discouraged me to hear that I had no right to have this kind of documentation.”

Pablo Silva at Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Plaza in Sacramento on Sept. 9, 2023. Silva is sitting on the bench where he and three other migrants slept their first night in Sacramento. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

But he will keep searching, Silva said; that’s what he has done since he left Venezuela. And as his future in Sacramento remains uncertain, his dreams and goals remain the same.

“I want to start my own business, contribute to this economy,” Silva said with a smile. “And I know I can only do that in a country like the U.S.”

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Alejandra Reyes-Velarde at CalMatters contributed to this report.CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

From the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services:

The new COVID-19 monovalent vaccine was recently approved and is expected to be available locally in the next week. The new vaccines, which are designed to protect against the current Omicron subvariants, are the only vaccines currently approved. The previous bivalent COVID-19 vaccines were deauthorized on Sept. 11.

In addition to the new vaccine, COVID vaccines have transitioned to the commercial market which means they will no longer be purchased by the federal government and provided free of charge to all U.S. residents. Instead, they will be available through commercial insurance, Medicaid, including California’s Medi-Cal program, Medicare, the Vaccines for Children Program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services Public Health branch will also have a limited number of vaccines available for uninsured adults at its main clinic in Eureka. For more information, call your local pharmacy, primary care provider or the Public Health Clinic at 707-268-2108.

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine commercialization, click on the Vaccinate ALL 58 vaccination program’s FAQ page.